Method of constructing a ferrule unit for fishing rods

ABSTRACT

A ferrule unit for connecting sections of a fishing rod formed of male and female ferrules that have a telescopic interfit which is on an extremely small taper and is cushioned by an O-ring provided on the end of the male ferrule and engaged with the tapered surface of the female ferrule, and a method for producing such a ferrule unit.

United States Patent 1191 Stevens METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING A F ERRULE UNITFOR FISHING RODS [76] Inventor: Milton J. Stevens, 1812 Crestmont Court,Glendale, Calif.

[22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 115,763

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 54,217, July 13,1970, Pat. No.

521 u.s.c1. ..29/458, 29/516, 29/525, 287/116 511 1111. C1. ..B23p3/00,B23p 25/00 [58] Field of Search ..29/458, 516, 525; 287/126;279/102; 43/18 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 537,0884/1895 Varney 287/l26 2,273,154 2 1942 Stromsoe ..29/458 UX 2,274,9613/1942 Horger 29/458 2,354,656 8/1944 Annesley .287/126 2,600,629 6/1952Feierabendm. 287/126 2,795,844 6/1957 Liszak ..29 4ss 3,406,993 10/1968l-laynes ..29 s25 ux Primary Examiner-Charlie T. Moon Attorney-I-lymanJackman 5 7 ABSTRACT A ferrule unit for connecting sections of a fishingrod formed of male and female ferrules that have a telescopic interfitwhich is on an extremely small taper and is cushioned by 'an O-ringprovided on the end of the male ferrule and engaged with the taperedsurface of the female ferrule, and a method for producing such a ferruleunit.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention For connecting adjoining sections of fishing rods and othersuch sections, generally.

2. Description of the Prior Art Rod-connecting ferrules are known butneither the tapered interfit of the instant structure nor the method ofproducing the same are suggested in art known to applicant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present ferrule unit comprises, generally,a female ferrule adapted for permanent connection to a fishing rodsection 6, and a male ferrule with an adjoining fishing rod section 8.Said ferrule are advantageously formed of heat-treated aluminum alloyand provided with an anodized finish coating.

An object of the invention is to provide a ferrule unit of the characterreferred to that provides for maximum matching of ferrules.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ferrule unit that ischaracterized by smooth, play-free fit and free of ticking noisesfrequently occurring when the fishing rod is bent under casting stressesand accompanying the playing of a fish.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ferrule unit as abovethat is light in weight, flexible with backbone, breakage resistant withsubstantially total interchangeability. Also, the unit is seizure free.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide an improved andsimple method for constructing the above characterized ferrule unit andwhich is effective for providing such unit with the improvedcharacteristics enumerated in the foregoing objects.

This invention also has for its objects to provide a novel, economicaland convenient method or process of superior utility, and to provide anarticle that is positive in operation, convenient in use, easilyinstalled in working position and easily disconnected therefrom,economical of manufacture, relatively simple, and of general superiorityand serviceability.

The invention also contemplates novel combinations of method steps aswell as novel details of construction and novel combinations andarrangements of parts, which will appear more fully in the course of thefollowing dexcription, which is based on the accompanying drawing.However, said drawing merely shows and the following description merelydescribes the invention with respect to a preferred method andapparatus, the same, nevertheless, being given by way of illustration orexample only.

In the drawing, like reference characters designate similar parts inseveral views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an enlarged view, partly inelevation and partly in section, of a ferrule unit embodying the presentinvention and shown connected to adjacent ends of two sections of afishing rod or of similar-elongated members.

FIG. 2 is a further enlarged elevational view of the male ferrule ofsaid unit.

FIG. 3 is a similarly enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the femaleferrule of the unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The rod sections 6 and 8 may notbe, but are preferably tapered, so thread may to be wound thereover forneat appearance and added strength.

The female ferrule section 5 is machined throughout and is in the formof a cylindrically tubular sleeve 10 having an interior bore 11 that iscylindrical or tapered from the end 12 of said sleeve to a point 13 atthe approximate middle of the length of said sleeve. From said point 13,the bore 11 is formed to have a widening taper 14 to the point 15 nearthe other end 16a of said sleeve. In the present case, said wideningtaper or flare 14 is in the nature of 0.002 inch in ferrules in whichthe bore 11 is approximately between 11/64 and 48/64 in steps of l/64inch, inclusive. Thus, if the dimension 16 of the cylindrical bore atthe point 13 is 11/64, the dimension 17 at the point 15 is 11/64 0.002inch. Between'the point 15 and the end 16a of the ferrule 5, the bore 11is increasingly enlarged to have a widening taper 18 of approximately 7.This 7 then matches the 7 angle on the mating male part and insuresagainst looseness or wobble.

According to the present method, the bore 11 is formed by a singleboring tool that is especially dimensioned to have an outer end portionthat is entered into and piloted in the cylindrical portion of the bore11, an intermediate portion that forms the taper 14 in said bore 11, andan inner end portion that forms the 7 taper 18. Of course, the size ofthe boring tool that is used has its pilot end conform in diametral sizeto that of the size of the cylindrical portion of the bore 11.

Said female ferrule 5, at its end 16a is provided with an annular bead19 that has the dual function of affording a hand grip facilitatingseparation of ferrule 5 from the rod section 6 and also serves tothicken said end 16a so the same will not stretch to cause the taperedsocket 18 to bell-mouth when the rod is being whipped and subjected togreat flexure when so used. A permanent anodized coating is provided onall surfaces of the ferrule 5 thus produced.

At its end 12, the ferrule 5 is reduced in outer diametral size toprovide a reduced portion 20 for turns or wrappings of silk or similarthread that are continued or adjacentportions of rod 6 and the sleeve10, for the purposes of finishing off the assembly of rod and ferrule.

The above ferrule 5 is telescopically connected with the rod section 6.The tip of said rod being usually reverse tapered, is joined to saidferrule by a suitable cement or other binder 21 that fills the annularspace formed between the cylindrical inner bore 11 and the tapered end21a of the rod section 6. The end 21a of the latter terminates short ofthe point 13 of the ferrule 5, in any case, not beyond said point. t

The male ferrule section 7 comprises a tubular portion 22 of which thebore 23 is cylindrical and terminates in a blind end 24, that isapproximately midway of the ends of said ferrule 7. At its end 25, saidportion 22 is reduced at 26 similarly to the reduced portion 20 and forthe same purpose-that of permanently connecting the ferrule 7 to the rodsection 8, while the enlarged end of the latter extends into the bore 23and is cemented at 27 to the sleeve 22.

A cylindrical plug 28 extends from the end of ferrule 7 oppositely fromits end 25, the same being diametrally smaller than the tubular portion22. While said plug is termed as being cylindrical, in actual practice,its end dimension 29 is 0.0002 inch smaller than the dimension 30. Itwill be noted that said plug 28 exactly fits the tapered bore portion 14of the female ferrule, since the longitudinal spacing between the end31, at dimension 29, and the point 32, at dimension 30, coincides withthe longitudinal spacing between the points 13 at dimension l6, andpoint 15, at dimension 17, of the bore part 14 of the sleeve 10.

Between the point 32 of the plug 28 and a fileted shoulder 33, said plugis provided with a widening tapered portion 34 which is 7 so as toconform to and exactly fit the 7 taper 18 of the sleeve 10 therebyensuring against looseness or wobble between the ferrules. It will beclear from the foregoing that when the plug 28 is entered into thesleeve and the shoulder 33 of the ferrule 7 is abutted with the end 16aof the ferrule 5, there will be such fit of said plug in the bore partforming the tapers 14 and 18, that under use, there will be a tight,non-ticking fit, as herein contemplated.

Although there is metal-to-metal contact between the plug 28 and thesleeve 10, when the ferrules are joined, the fit is cushioned by anO-ring 35 that is under compression by the bore part 14 to provide shockabsorption. Said O-ring, in addition to cushioning the fit, serves toclean the surfaces of the bore 11, and lubricate the interconnection.

The outer peripheral surfaces of the ferrule 7 are formed in a singlecenterless grinding operation by a grinding wheel preformed to matchthose bore dimensions of the bore 11 of the ferrule with which it mates.

Centerless grinding, as above, allows for caustic etching and stockremoval of the surface of the plug 28 between its end 31 and the point32 where the tapered portion 34 begins. This etching step reduces theplug part 28 by 0.0002 inch to 0.0004 inch. 7

After the etching step, the ferrule 7 is subjected to shot peening, asby tumbling or any other method, the same resulting in hardening of thesurface of the plug 28 and polishing thereof.

Finally, the two ferrules are subject to anodizing at voltages and attime durations compatible to the aluminum alloys used. This step buildsback the losses of surface metal caused by the etching step andreduction in size caused by the peening step and provides a 0.0002 inchto 0.0004 inch clearance. By swaging the sleeve 10, as by preciselycontrolled air pressure, a hard, smooth yet delicate fit between theferrules is achieved.

Even when the alloy used for two ferrules 5 and 7 may differ andregardless of the colors imparted by the anodizing step, the ferrule 5of the same base size may be interchangeably fitted with a ferrule 7 ofa similar base size.

While the foregoing has illustrated and described what is nowcontemplated to be the best mode of carrying out the invention, theconstruction is, of course, subject to modification without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim: 1. The method of constructmg a ferrule unit comprising a femalepart and a male part for connecting two tapered sections of a fishingrod, said method consisting of the steps of:

machining the female ferrule part of said unit to form the same with athrough bore having a substantially cylindrical end portion, a flaredopposite end portion, and an intermediate tapered portion in the natureof 0.002 inch larger at the end thereof that joins said flared endportion than at the end thereof that joins the cylindrical end portion,first machining the male ferrule part of said unit to form thereon aplug that has a tapered end portion that has the same taper as andconforms in diametrical size to the smaller end of the intermediatetapered end of the bore in the female ferrule part, while simultaneouslymachining a tapered portion approximating 7 on said plug between the endportion thereof and its rod-engaging end, etching the plug to reduce thediametral size thereof by about 0.0002 inch to 0.0004 inch, subjectingthe plug to a surface-hardening step, anodizing both ferrule parts atvoltages and time durations compatible to the aluminum alloys used torestore losses of the surface material removed by the etching step, andfinally swaging the ferrule part having the through bore to fit aroundthe plug, as above formed, to provide a smooth, yet separable, interfitof the two ferrule parts. i 2. The method according to claim 1 in whichthe hardening step is carried out by shot-peening.

1. The method of constructing a ferrule unit comprising a female partand a male part for connecting two tapered sections of a fishing rod,said method consisting of the steps of: machining the female ferrulepart of said unit to form the same with a through bore having asubstantially cylindrical end portion, a flared opposite end portion,and an intermediate tapered portion in the nature of 0.002 inch largerat the end thereof that joins said flared end portion than at the endthereof that joins the cylindrical end portion, first machining the maleferrule part of said unit to form thereon a plug that has a tapered endportion that has the same taper as and conforms in diametrical size tothe smaller end of the intermediate tapered end of the bore in thefemale ferrule part, while simultaneously machining a tapered portionapproximating 7* on said plug between the end portion thereof and itsrod-engaging end, etching the plug to reduce the diametral size thereofby about 0.0002 inch to 0.0004 inch, subjecting the plug to asurface-hardening step, anodizing both ferrule parts at voltages andtime Durations compatible to the aluminum alloys used to restore lossesof the surface material removed by the etching step, and finally swagingthe ferrule part having the through bore to fit around the plug, asabove formed, to provide a smooth, yet separable, interfit of the twoferrule parts.
 1. The method of constructing a ferrule unit comprising afemale part and a male part for connecting two tapered sections of afishing rod, said method consisting of the steps of: machining thefemale ferrule part of said unit to form the same with a through borehaving a substantially cylindrical end portion, a flared opposite endportion, and an intermediate tapered portion in the nature of 0.002 inchlarger at the end thereof that joins said flared end portion than at theend thereof that joins the cylindrical end portion, first machining themale ferrule part of said unit to form thereon a plug that has a taperedend portion that has the same taper as and conforms in diametrical sizeto the smaller end of the intermediate tapered end of the bore in thefemale ferrule part, while simultaneously machining a tapered portionapproximating 7* on said plug between the end portion thereof and itsrod-engaging end, etching the plug to reduce the diametral size thereofby about 0.0002 inch to 0.0004 inch, subjecting the plug to asurface-hardening step, anodizing both ferrule parts at voltages andtime Durations compatible to the aluminum alloys used to restore lossesof the surface material removed by the etching step, and finally swagingthe ferrule part having the through bore to fit around the plug, asabove formed, to provide a smooth, yet separable, interfit of the twoferrule parts.